Artist Spotlight: Derek Clawson
Award Winning Relicblade Diorama by Derek Clawson
KublaCon: Best of Relicblade, Artist Spotlight
We have a very special article for you all today. This year, Metal King Studio sponsored several little projects at KublaCon. KublaCon is an annual tabletop hobby convention held in the San Francisco bay area. I am friends with the San Francisco Bay Area Miniature Painters (SFBAMP) and always stoked to get involved where I can.
This year, Derek Clawson absolutely blew the top off the Relicblade category at the KublaCon painting competition. I asked Derek if he would be willing to share some insights on his process as he produced one of the most beautiful Relicblade dioramas to date! He generously wrote up the following account of his adventure for our enjoyment.
Take your time to soak in the details of this wonderfully immersive work of fantasy art.
Your friend,
Sean Sutter
Relicblade Diorama By Derek Clawson
My process for painting the Relicblade diorama started like most projects. I found a model I really liked, Lady Aurelia, and then I considered how I would build a scene around the character and how the composition would work. After that, it was trial and error working through the piece with some help from friends along the way.
The story started with Lady Aurelia walking through the woods with a fox as her companion. Then, she would discover a dangerous cave. Unfortunately, this idea wasn’t clear enough so I scrapped it and moved onto a story that was much clearer. This story involved Aurelia looking for some sort of treasure, a kickstarter objective marker, and a monster looming behind them ready to strike. This story felt much more exciting and readable, so I began working on the composition.
When I began contemplating the composition, I knew I wanted it to be in a rectangular frame like the works I'd seen from Roman Lappat. I use the rule of thirds, and then I see if I can add leading lines, other forms of compositions, or negative space to make the scene more interesting and readable.
When the building started, I made the box with plastic-cards and used a picture frame that I bought from a hobby store. Then, I used cork, Milliput, and Apoxie Sculpt for the rocks. Once these shapes were in place I added roots, sticks, and tufts for the foliage.
At this point, the excitement for the piece was ramping up, so I started adding elements to the inner sides of the box. I added more rocks, painting caves and forests, and hid a couple woodland critters for viewers to find.
The process for painting the scene was mostly wet blending and stippling, followed by filters with oils and airbrush. The three figures were the most time consuming part that was done entirely by brush using acrylic paints.
Being in the hobby for as long as I have, I am fortunate to meet a lot of great artists around the world. Throughout the process, I received feedback and suggestions to improve this piece; so, I want to say thanks to those folks for being a part of the journey and making this piece so special.
